The rapper was placed in an unusual position with his old collaborator.

Fans have been waiting to hear a fresh project from Busta Rhymes since Back On My B.S.*, which dropped in 2009. The rapper is finally getting ready to unleash new material, almost a decade later. Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden had a conversation with him during the Beats 1 NYC Studio opening last week during which the hiatus was explained.

Busta said he was urged to dig deeper than he had in recent years. Dr. Dre pushed him to prove himself past his previous accomplishments.

"Nine albums later, I'm working on an album for nine years. The album that I'm getting ready to release, I've been recording this shit since 2000 and fucking nine. I credit that patience to the Dr. Dre experience because when I was in Aftermath, this was the first time that I was stripped of all the memorabilia of my accolades and what I've accomplished and how great Busta Rhymes is; in my own head and from the people and from my fucking resume. Dre be like, ‘Yo, you had a great one, but you want to do it different. You want to see new results, you gotta do it a new way. Welcome to Aftermath my n***a.’ I'm like, 'What the fuck do this mean?'”

Knowing that the artist was forced into a process of growth only adds to the anticipation of his forthcoming project. Sound off in the comments.

* Busta released Year Of The Dragon in 2012, but it wasn't as impactful as his previous project. It also isn't available on any streaming platforms anymore either.